


Jake Peralta is Stubborn with a Capital S

by Istanbul_Not_Constantinople



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago Fluff, My First Work in This Fandom, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-04 21:09:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Istanbul_Not_Constantinople/pseuds/Istanbul_Not_Constantinople
Summary: Jake loves his job and he especially loves solving particularly tough cases. Amy just wishes her boyfriend would put his health first sometimes.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey this is my first fic for Brooklyn-99 and my first fic in general. I've been writing little stories for a long time but I've never had the courage to post anything until now. This story isn't particularly good but I feel like I just have to get myself out there to grow as a writer. Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Jake sighed as his tired eyes scanned the file in front of him once again. He had been over it three times now but he wasn’t sure he had internalized any of the information within it. He leaned back for a moment, trying to clear his mind and ease the throbbing pain that was radiating through his skull. He screwed his eyes shut for a few seconds to block out the bright fluorescent lights of the precinct before forcing himself to refocus on the case at hand. It had started out as a simple breaking and entering case but, after some investigation, the same crew had been linked to several other crimes which meant that this case was not going to be as open and shut as the 99 had thought. Jake loved working on more complex cases, however, he hadn’t been feeling so hot the past couple of days. That wasn't going to stop him from working the case, it just meant that it wouldn’t be as fun as usual.   
“Thanks Ames” Jake mumbled as he accepted the cup of coffee she held out to him, not looking up from the file he was holding. Amy watched him for a moment as she returned to her desk. His brow was furrowed as he studied the file. He absentmindedly bit his lower lip, which Amy got just a little distracted by. But what she noticed the most was how tired his brown eyes were. Amy glanced at the clock, it was six pm and they still had a long night ahead of them. Amy was finishing up the paperwork from her last case and Jake and Boyle were still investigating the recent string of robberies. She decided that she would try to get him to go home once her paperwork was finished and, decision made, she returned her focus to the ominous stack of papers on her desk.   
Jake occasionally left his desk to analyze the evidence board or to consult Charles on a particular detail but for the most part he remained at his desk, watching security footage and going through witness statements. Amy occasionally glanced up at her partner/boyfriend, watching him chew anxiously on the end of a pen and squint his eyes as he tried to get a closer look at a suspect’s face on the surveillance tapes. The cough started a bit later, once Amy was almost finished with her work and she hoped she could get him to leave the precinct at a decent hour. “Hey babe, ready to head out?” she asked as she placed the completed forms in the proper envelope.   
Jake glanced up, “I think I’m getting close Amy” he said, “I was going to grab Charles and head out to talk to… oh Charles is gone” Jakes trailed off, looking a bit puzzled. “He said goodbye to you like an hour ago” Amy said with a small laugh. “Oh yeah you’re right, he totally did. I was just super focused I guess” he said with a small shrug. “Since Charles is gone for the night, you might as well come home” Amy added. Jake sighed and looked between her and the file for a moment before nodding, “Yeah alright, can’t do anything else tonight anyway” he said, pushing himself up from his desk. He grabbed the case file and took Amy’s outstretched hand as they walked to the car. “Really Jake?” Amy asked teasingly as she saw the file he carried with him. “Just in case” he said with a smile as they reached the car.   
Jake’s cough grew a bit more persistent on the drive home but he assured Amy that it was “totally nothing to worry about babe, just accidentally snorted some dust in the evidence room”. “Whatever Peralta” she said, rolling her eyes fondly as they finally reached their apartment. They both changed into some pjs before sitting next to each other on the couch. Jake made it through exactly one episode of Chopped before he was reaching for the file he brought home. Amy sighed softly as she watched him scan the file yet again. He got like this sometimes. He would obsess over the case until he solved it and would often forget to take care of himself in the process. Amy just hoped this case would be resolved soon before she had to step in and force him to rest.   
Amy woke up a couple hours later, blearily looking at the clock and realizing that it was now three in the morning and that she had fallen asleep on the couch. There was a blanket tucked around her, courtesy of Jake. She was about to get up to move to the actual bed when she spotted him. Jake was sitting on the floor with information about the case strewn around him. He was scribbling notes down on the back of a photograph when Amy called out to him, “Jake?” He dropped the pen, startled by the sudden sound. “Oh hey Ames, what are you doing up?” he asked, putting the photo down. “I should be asking you the same question Jake. C’mon, let’s go to bed” she said softly. He glanced at the case file one more time before sighing and pushing himself to his feet. Amy smiled at him as he got up and he returned with a shy smile of his own, “I hope I didn’t wake you up” he said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. “No that weird lump in the couch woke me up” she said and they both shuddered a bit at uncomfiness of the peculiar lump in between two of the cushions. Amy crawled into bed and Jake followed behind her, tucking himself in behind her and pulling her to his chest. Amy smiled and kissed his forearm, happy her boyfriend was finally getting some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake is determined to solve this case and he will not rest until he does... unless Amy asks him to. He has trouble saying no to her.

Unfortunately, the blaring of the alarm clock came all too soon, signalling that it was time to head back to work. Amy quietly disentangled herself from Jake and headed to take a shower, hoping he could sleep for another thirty minutes. However, when she exited the shower, the bed was empty. She headed towards the kitchen and found Jake making coffee for the two of them. He gave her a big smile as she entered the room, hair still damp from the shower. “Good morning” he said softly, offering her a mug. “Good morning to you too” she grinned, accepting the mug gratefully. “I’m going to go take a shower” he said, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before heading towards the bathroom. It was unusual for Jake to be up before the very last minute but Amy knew he was anxious to meet up with Charles and work on the case.  
Jake exited the bathroom twenty minutes later, wearing a pair of dark jeans with a maroon button down shirt and a light gray hoodie. “Ready to go?” he asked, eyebrows raised expectantly as he pulled on his favorite leather jacket and grabbed the car keys from the hook near the door. “Do you want anything to eat?” she asked before downing the rest of her coffee and finishing the last bite of her bagel. “Nah I’m good” he answered quickly, already opening the door with his case file in hand. Amy rolled her eyes at his impatience but followed him out of the apartment, grinning as he held out his free hand for her to take.  
Amy meant to keep an eye on Jake today. He had still seemed so tired on the car ride into work and that nagging little cough kept making an appearance. It was probably nothing but Amy was a pro at worrying, especially when it came to Jake. However, fifteen minutes after arriving at the precinct, Amy was assigned a new case that was monopolizing her attention. She looked up from the file just in time to see Jake and Charles leaving the precinct.

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Jake put his sunglasses on as he and Charles exited the precinct, the bright morning sun doing absolute wonders for his headache. He squinted his eyes behind the shades and tossed the keys to Charles, deciding he would be the safer driver at the moment. “Really?! But it’s your turn to drive Jake!” Charles exclaimed as he caught the keys (almost dropping them immediately after). “No I’m pretty sure it’s your turn” Jake said, climbing into the car as Charles headed excitedly towards the driver’s side. Charles was not about to argue and lose an extra turn to drive so he hurried to buckle himself in and start the car. His excitement dwindled a bit though as Jake was uncharacteristically quiet for the duration of the ride. “You okay Jakey?” he asked as Jake stifled another cough in his sleeve. “Hmm? Oh yeah I’m all good, high pollen count today” he replied before swiftly switching the subject to talk about the case. 

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Jake sighed heavily as he and Charles entered the bullpen. They had spent several hours talking to possible witnesses and they had almost nothing to show for it. “Charles look into the last store owner’s alibi, I’m gonna watch the surveillance tapes again” he said as he headed towards his desk. “Sounds good” Charles said, heading towards his own desk to start up his computer. “Hey Ames” Jake said with a small smile as he sank down into his chair, giving his girlfriend a little wave. “Hey babe. Did you and Charles find any leads?” she asked, glad to have a small break from her own case. “Nothing. Somehow, nobody saw anything” he said with a frustrated groan. He was feeling even worse than he had this morning and he just wanted this case to be over. “I’m sorry, I’m sure something will turn up soon” she empathized. “It better” he grumbled as he pulled up the surveillance tapes from the robberies and began to analyze them again. Amy refocused on her own case for a while, making occasional trips to the evidence room.

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Jake’s eyes burned and his head throbbed from staring at the screen. He had seen all the tapes at least ten times by now but he knew he had to be missing something. Just as he was starting in on round eleven he paused. There. On the tape from the second robbery. It was only there for a second but it was enough. A van was driving past the store front. Jake zoomed in on the logo and it clicked. He had seen the same van in three of the tapes. He rewatched the other tapes just to be sure and was elated to find that the van was a constant variable. He finally had something to work with! So, ignoring his headache and the sore throat that seemed to be growing worse and worse, Jake got to work identifying the company the van belonged to.  
Meanwhile, Amy was pacing the floor of the break room, hoping the movement would trigger a revelation or something that would help her solve her case. After about half an hour without any ideas, Amy sat down on the leather sofa with a sigh. She was pretty tired so she decided she would just rest her eyes for a few moments before going to collect Jake to head home. 

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The first thing Amy noticed when she awoke three hours later was the crick in her back from the uncomfortable sofa. The second thing she noticed was that it was nearing two am and that she was still at the precinct. She groaned as she stood and stretched, exiting the break room to find Jake still sitting in front of his computer. He was so thoroughly engrossed in his work that he startled when Amy laid a hand on his shoulder. “Amy?” he asked before glancing at the time, “Oh it’s getting late” he said. “Yeah we both lost track of time” she admitted, “Let’s go home and get some rest”. Jake’s discomfort hit him like a wave as his focus on the case was broken. His head throbbed in time with his heart, his throat felt scratchy and sore, and his muscles were beginning to ache unpleasantly. He really wanted to go home and sleep cuddled up with his amazing girlfriend but… “The case will still be here in the morning Jake” said girlfriend said softly, interrupting his train of thought. “Yeah alright, I guess some sleep couldn’t hurt” he relented, smiling up at her as he packed up his things to head home.


	3. Chapter 3

“Jake, honey, you should stay home today” Amy said the following morning as they sat at the kitchen table. He looked absolutely miserable. He had been up half the night coughing and dark circles sat heavily beneath his brown eyes. Amy grimaced as he wiped his nose on his sleeve, hurrying to hand him a tissue. “I’m fine Amy, I need to finish this case, we finally have a lead!” he said, his emphasis undercut by the raspy quality of his voice. “I’m sure Charles can handle it from here Jake, you know who you’re looking for now” she said, hoping to reason with him. “I promise I will take tomorrow off, I just really need to finish this case” he argued, pleading with her with his sad brown eyes. “Fine! But you and I are staying home tomorrow” Amy relented, trying to remain stern even after Jake gave her that stupid smile she loved so much.  
Jake went straight to Charles’ desk as they entered the precinct, coughing harshly into his elbow before catching Charles up to speed with what he had found. While it was obvious that Charles was excited to be following a lead, Amy could tell that he was also concerned about his friend. She was retrieved from her contemplation by Rosa’s voice behind her, “Is he okay?” she asked, as the two detectives watched Charles and Jake leave the bullpen, the latter coughing the whole way. While Rosa’s tone remained steady and unconcerned, Amy knew she must be actually worried to ask such a thing. “He’s definitely sick but you know how he gets, he refuses to take a break until this case is over” Amy sighed. “He’s an idiot” Rosa said in her usual deadpan fashion and Amy laughed a bit, knowing that was Rosa’s way of showing affection. “I got him to promise to take tomorrow off, so at least that’s something” she added. Rosa nodded her approval before returning to her desk. Amy just hoped this case ended soon with as few complications as possible.

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Jake swore quietly after a particularly harsh coughing fit, pointedly ignoring Charles’ concerned gaze. He shook his head slightly to clear it before returning to his notes. “Alright there are four suspects: Isaac Wilkinson, Aiden Barrera, Carlos Fraser, and Alan Fischer. They all work for Darryl’s Dry Cleaners here in Brooklyn and they were all supposedly making deliveries at the time of all five robberies” Jake recapped as they neared the business. Two squad cars were following behind the detectives as they made their way to make the arrests. “We can handle the arrests if you’re not feeling well Jakey” Charles said after yet another coughing fit that left Jake wheezing. “I told you Charles, I’m fine, I’ll chill out for a couple days after the suspects are in custody” he said, making sure to give his partner his best puppy dog eyes. “Okay fine, you know I can’t resist that face” Charles said frustratedly, the puppy dog eyes got him every time. Jake gave him a big grin that probably would have been more convincing if he didn’t look so damn miserable.  
Jake paused for a moment as they exited the car, holding onto the door until the sudden wave of dizziness passed. He shook his head slightly and cleared his throat, pushing all thoughts of his annoying symptoms to the back of his mind as he focused on the task at hand. The officers took their positions and on Jake’s signal the door was kicked open. “NYPD freeze!” one of the officers shouted as they breached the building and immediately there was a flurry of activity. “They never freeze” Jake mumbled in exasperation as he took off after one of the suspects who broke through one of the windows into a back alley. The broken glass sliced his hand as he pulled himself through the window frame but he ignored the slight sting and broke into a run.  
Jake was absolutely not having a good time right now. Normally he loved a good chase, however he loved a good chase significantly less when said chase was really aggravating his need to cough. He felt like he couldn’t breathe by the time he rounded the corner of the alleyway but he was not letting this one get away. He was gaining on the suspect so he pushed down the urge to just lay down in the alley and sleep for three days straight. He rounded another corner and smirked as he watched the suspect try to climb over a tall fence. He grabbed the man’s foot and pulled him back towards the ground, causing him to swear loudly as he was pulled off balance. He landed a bit more gracefully than Jake had hoped he would and managed to get a solid punch in before Jake was able to draw his gun, effectively ending the fight. He handcuffed the perp before taking a minute, resting his hands on his knees as he panted for a moment. “God today was the worst day for a chase” he panted before forcing himself upright. “You have the right to remain silent…”

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Amy stood up from her desk and made her way across the bullpen as Jake and Charles entered the precinct along with the other officers and all of the suspects. “Are you ok?” she asked worriedly, gently prodding at the bruise beginning to bloom across his right cheekbone. Jake nodded then leaned into the touch a bit, her hand felt so cool and his skin felt oh so hot and uncomfortable. Amy moved her hand to his forehead, sighing softly as she felt the heat radiating off of him. “Let’s go home Jake” she said, relieved when he murmured an agreement.  
She left Jake at his desk to pack up his things. Well, Charles insisted on packing up Jake and Amy’s things once his suspicions that Jake was sick were confirmed. She knocked on the Captain’s door, opening it when she heard “Come in”. Captain Holt looked up expectantly from the paperwork he was reading as Amy entered his office. “Captain, would it be ok if I took Jake home? He’s sick and now that his case is over he’s finally agreeing to some rest” she explained, trying the gauge the Captain’s reaction to her request. “Please do Santiago. Oh, and you both have the day off tomorrow. The last thing we need is for Peralta to infect the entire precinct with his contagion” the Captain finished. “Thank you Captain” Amy said with a big smile, hearing the Captain’s concern for Jake in his usually monotone voice.  
“Ready to go home babe?” she asked as she approached their desks, noticing that Jake was pulling his hoodie a bit tighter around himself. Jake nodded tiredly, all of his energy drained. “Take good care of him Amy” Charles said and Amy shook her head fondly at his concern for her boyfriend. “You know I will Charles, and Captain Holt gave us the day off tomorrow, a three day weekend should mean that Jake gets plenty of rest” she assured him. Charles nodded his approval and insisted on giving both of them a hug before they left.  
“You don’t have to babysit me Ames if you’re still working on your case, I’ll be ok” Jake said, pulling on the sleeves of his sweatshirt anxiously as he didn’t want to prevent Amy from finishing anything important. “I already finished the case Jake and Charles offered to do the paperwork” she reassured him, taking his hand and leading him towards the car. There was not a case out there that would prevent her from spending the next few days helping her boyfriend get well again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, I'm dealing with finals right now so my time is pretty limited. I'm not super happy with this chapter but I wanted to go ahead and update it. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer

Amy opened the door to their shared apartment and helped Jake get settled in on the couch. Just as she was about to head to the bathroom to grab some flu medicine she noticed blood soaking the hem of his sleeve. “Jake what happened?” she asked, pulling his sleeve back to reveal the gash left by the broken glass he had encountered earlier. “One of the suspects broke a window” he said with a small shrug before coughing into the crook of his free arm. “I’ll be right back babe, go get changed into some comfier clothes” she said, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead before heading off to collect some supplies. He felt pretty warm so she grabbed a thermometer as well as some tylenol for the fever and some cough drops from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. She grabbed the hydrogen peroxide and some bandage as well. She deposited these items on the coffee table and pulled the tissue box closer to the couch. She left the room once more to grab a bottle of gatorade from the kitchen as well as a small waste basket.  
When Amy reentered the living room she couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face when she saw Jake. He had on his plaid pajama pants and an oversized hoodie on and he looked absolutely adorable. Jake gave her a tired smile when he noticed her standing in the doorway and looked like he was about to say something when he descended into a coughing fit. Amy rushed over, rubbing his back as he coughed and wheezed, the fit leaving him teary eyed and gasping for breath. “Oh Jake” she said with a concerned sigh, “Let’s take your temperature and get you some medicine and then we can watch something… maybe… Die Hard?” His eyes lit up at the suggestion, “Sounds good Ames” he rasped, his sore throat making speaking quite the challenge. She got him to hold the thermometer under his tongue while she moved to the TV console to pop Die Hard into the player. “101.4” Amy read as the thermometer beeped, sending a sympathetic glance towards her boyfriend.   
Jake really did look downright miserable at this point and the fact that he didn’t make any kind of protest when Amy began cleaning up his injured hand for him told her just how bad he was feeling. “I’m thinking it’s the flu” Amy said as she finished disinfecting and wrapping his hand. “Yeah that checks out” Jake said with a downright pitiful sniffle, pulling the blanket tighter around himself in an attempt to make his teeth stop chattering. “You must’ve felt really crappy today” she said sympathetically, handing him the correct dosage of medication. “I’ve felt better” he admitted, downing the medication with a swig of gatorade. Amy couldn’t help but laugh as her boyfriend scrunched his face up in disgust at the taste of the medicine.   
Amy helped him lay down so that his head rested in her lap, the soft throw blanket wrapped tightly around him. She pressed play on the movie and moved her hand to card gently through his hair, smiling at Jake’s contented sigh. The ends were curled slightly and she loved to run her hands through his soft curls. Jake’s breathing had evened out before the movie was even halfway over and it was obvious that he was dead to the world. Amy was just thrilled that he was finally getting some substantial rest. He had gotten maybe ten hours of sleep total since Monday so she hoped he could catch up on that sleep on their long weekend. It was only two pm but Amy decided that a nap wouldn’t hurt. Although she had gotten significantly more sleep than Jake this week, she was still pretty tired herself. She rested her head against the back of the sofa, closing her eyes and falling asleep to the familiar sounds of Die Hard in the background.   
She woke up a couple of hours later when Jake sat up quickly and immediately started coughing harshly, doubling over as he tried to catch his breath. “You’re ok baby, just breathe” she said, trying to keep her rising panic under control as he continued to struggle. He finally caught his breath and turned to face her. His brown eyes had tears gathering within them from the coughing fit. “Are you ok Jake?” she asked quietly, reaching her hand out to wipe away a tear trickling out of the corner of his eye with the pad of her thumb, her hand cupping his jaw softly. “Yeah” he rasped weakly, leaning into her touch with a soft sigh.   
“I’m going to go make you some tea” she said after a few moments, “Peppermint and honey?” Jake thought about it for a moment before nodding, “Lots of honey please” he requested and Amy smiled at his ever present sweet tooth. Amy got up and made her way into the kitchen, setting the up water on to boil as she pulled out the tea bags, a mug, and the honey. While she was making the tea, Jake tried to get comfortable on the sofa. He turned the movie off, the credits had been rolling for quite a while, and flipped it to HGTV. He settled back against the cushions as the Property Brothers showed a house to a young family, hoping Amy would be back to join him soon.


End file.
